Rev. Ben Ebcas Jr. kept Our Lady of the Assumption open late to comfort fellow Filipinos sick with worry - while quietly hoping for his own two brothers’ safety.

Father Ben Ebcas Jr. talks to media about the devastation in his homeland after Typhoon Haiyan levelled the eastern coasts, putting his own two brothers in mortal danger as well as family and friends of many of his parishioners.

On Sunday morning, the extent of the devastation wrought in the Philippines by Typhoon Haiyan was becoming apparent.

Even though his own two brothers were still missing, Rev. Ben Ebcas Jr. kept his North Toronto parish open late to provide support as relatives prayed and sought assurance that their friends and families weren’t among the storm’s toll — a number believed to be as high as 10,000.

It wasn’t until later, alone in the dark of his room, that Ebcas got the answer he’d prayed for: a short yet sweet message from his sisters in Europe:

“Father, don’t worry anymore. Romel and Godi are home and safe.”

Barely more than 10 words, but it was enough.

His old home in Ormoc — less than a hundred kilometres from Tacloban, where a marooned ship sat amid shattered homes — was destroyed, but his brothers, Romel and Godi, their wives and Ebcas’ nine nieces and nephews were safe.

“I slept like a baby after that,” Ebcas said smiling. “I prayed and I said, ‘Lord, you are the only person who can help them, please help them’ … he did.”

Still, it’s a struggle to see images of flattened homes, flooding and landslides and dead bodies on every channel.

The images are so similar to what he witnessed personally during Typhoon Thelma, which hit the country in 1991, killing several of his family members.

“I can imagine what’s happening on the ground now, and oh, it was scary,” he said.

That’s why on Sunday night, before he received word about his own family’s fate, he opened Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Parish late and invited parishioners — many Filipino — to sit and pray with him.

“Instead of crying, we prayed together as a family,” he said. Many eventually got the answers they were looking for, slowly coming to him with smiles and the good news that their family had been found and were safe.

The reassurance about his own family — though he has yet to have direct contact with them — was enough for the priest to redirect his focus.

His concern now is centred on supporting his parish and trying to make contact with an orphanage in Tacloban that he’s supported for more than a decade.

“I couldn’t get in touch with them … but they’re in a place that’s been so heavily devastated, and there are 60 to 70 children with just eight nuns taking care of them.”

To help, many of Ebcas’ Filipino parishioners are taking shifts packing supply boxes. The sense of purpose is what they need, Ebcas said, as they try to establish regular communication with their families, and try to figure out what needs fixing and how.

“Better to do something,” he said. “It’s their way of coping rather than sitting there, watching TV and worrying.”

And even though aid workers and donations are just beginning to flow in, Ebcas is already looking ahead.

“What’s next? After all the relief has gone and after (aid workers) go back to their respective places … what will happen?”

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